Name: 免費派發現金能幫助社會嗎？| 經濟學家》雜誌 (Can free-cash handouts help society? | The Economist)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T08:05:14.000Z
Duration: 5 min 36 s

Imagine paying people no-strings-attached cash whether they have a job or not.

想像一下，無論大家有沒有工作，卻將現金無條件發放給人。

There's the need for a new kind of safety net.

情態副詞

It's a utopian idea that some think could be the solution to a potentially jobless dystopian future.

這是烏托邦式的想法，有些人認為這是解決反烏托邦未來潛在失業的方法。

This way of automation is coming and it hasn't crushed on society yet but it's going to.

這種自動化的方式即將到來，雖然還沒有受到社會歡迎，但在未來絕對會。

In California, two experiments are being planned that could point to a radically different future of work.

加州正在計劃進行兩項實驗，可能指向完全不同的工作未來。

Just five years ago, the city was declared bankrupt.

就在五年前，這座城市宣告破產。

Today, unemployment is almost double the national average and many people live paycheck to paycheck.

現在，失業率幾乎是全國平均的兩倍，而且許多人過著月光族的日子。

But the city's mayor, Michael Tubbs has a plan to combat an increasingly unequal and insecure jobs market.

但是，市長邁克爾．圖布斯計劃要對抗越來越不平等和不穩定的就業市場。

Starting this year, a hundred residents will receive a guaranteed income of $500 per month.

從今年開始，有一百名居民可以獲得每月 500 美元的保證收入。

The mayor's plan is inspired by the radical idea of a Universal Basic Income, or UBI.

市長的計劃受到全民基本收入( UBI )的激進想法所啟發。

An unconditional cash payment for all citizens.

The experiment will measure the impact of these payments on the recipients' lives.

該實驗是要衡量這些錢對受試者生活的影響。

Mayor Tubbs believes it could be the key to helping the working poor.

圖布斯市長相信這是幫助薪貧族的關鍵。

Those who have jobs but find it hard to make ends meet.

指的是有工作卻難以維持生計的人。

If Universal Basic Income works out in Stockton you will see the poverty levels decrease.

如果全民基本收入在斯德頓市順利運作，將會看到貧窮水準下降。

I do think there'll be more discussions about things like social safety net and basic income, for sure.

我確實認為之後會有更多關於社會安全網和基本收入等問題的討論。

The truth is, one in two of every American can't afford $1500 emergency.

現在的事實是，每兩個美國人就有一個付不起 1500 美元的急診費用。

Which means the majority of the country's not doing that well.

這代表國家大部分的地方都做得不好。

I'm the first to say that for three years worth of work, I ended up with nearly half a billion dollars.

我是第一個說這三年值得工作的人，因為我最後賺了近五億美元。

That is not how the economy is supposed to work.

但那不是經濟正常運作的方式。

Chris Hughes is one of the people paying for Mayor Tubb's experiment.

克里斯．休斯是贊助圖布斯市長實驗的其中一員。

He made his money as a co-founder of Facebook.

他以 Facebook 共同創辦人的身分來賺錢。

But the online revolution he's profited from could mean rising insecurity for the workers of tomorrow.

但他從網路革命中所獲利的方式，可能會使工人對未來的不安感上升。

Now, he spends his time looking for new ways to deliver a fairer society.

現在，他花上許多時間尋找讓社會變得更公平的辦法。

We're seeing massive growth in the number of part-time jobs, contingent workers, in the gig economy, and with that instability comes a need for a new kind of safety net.

我們在零工經濟中看到兼職工、臨時工的數量大幅增長，因此這種不穩定性需要一種新的安全網。

$500 a month in the background every single month for people who need it so that in the great months you know that you're gonna be good.

每月五百元作為一個後盾，讓每個月都需要的人來使用，以便他們在幾個月內可以過得不錯。

And in the months when work isn't quite as stable, you know you're at least halfway to making rent.

在工作相當不穩定的幾個月中，你至少離房租只剩一半的錢。

Skeptics argue no-strings-attached handouts could discourage people from working.

持反對意見的人認為，無條件發錢可能讓人失去工作的力氣。

But Chris Hughes says research to date suggests that top ups have beneficial effects.

但克里斯．休斯表示，至今的研究表明發放現金有正面的效果。

When people get modest amounts of cash, they use it to improve their lives and the lives of their family.

當大眾得到適量的現金時，他們會用來改善自己和家庭的生活條件。

Most importantly, people don't drop out of work en masse.

最重要的是，大眾不會集體失業。

Our generation is gonna have to deal with tens of millions of jobs replaced by automation like self-driving cars and trucks.

我們這一代人不得不面臨到，數千萬個工作將由自動化取代，像是自動駕駛汽車和卡車。

Silicon Valley seemed awash with billionaires eager to allay fears about an uncertain future of work.

矽谷似乎有許多億萬富翁，他們渴望消除對未來工作不確定性的擔憂。

Fears stoked by the very innovations that have made them their billions.

擔憂正是由創新所激起，同時也讓他們成為億萬富翁。

Universal Basic Income is one of these ideas that's been talked about and debated a lot.

全民基本收入是受到大量討論和辯論的想法之一。

So we thought it'd be really good, given what we think is gonna happen in the world if we could get some data.

因此，如果我們能夠得到一些資料，這真的會很棒，因為我們所想的將在世界上發生。

Sam Altman is president of a Silicon Valley school for startups and he is about to launch the most rigorous experiment in basic income ever carried out in America.

山姆．奧爾特曼是矽谷新創公司的總裁，他將在美國展開最嚴格的基本收入實驗。

3,000 people will receive either $50 or $1,000 with no-strings-attached every month for the next few years.

在接下來的幾年中，每個月將有 3,000 人無條件獲得 50 或 1,000 美元。

Most economists argue a basic income would be just too expensive for governments to provide today.

大多數經濟學家認為，現今要政府提供基本收入的費用太高。

But Sam Altman claims the rise of the robots could ultimately have an answer for that.

但奧爾特曼宣稱機器人的崛起最後會有答案。

If the AI comes, the good news is the cost of goods and services come down dramatically because computers can do them so inexpensively.

如果 AI 的時代來臨，好消息是商品和服務的成本會急劇下降，因為電腦可以用便宜的價格來完成。

In a world like that, you know, we'd see effected GDP growth in terms of purchasing power skyrocket.

在這樣的世界中，我們會發現因購買力飛漲，GDP 也會受到影響而成長。

In the world where the AI really does arrive, there'll be plenty of money.

在 AI 確實來臨的世界裡，將會有相當多的錢。

Supporters of a basic income even believe it can change people's attitudes towards work itself.

支持基本收入的人甚至認為，它可以改變大眾對工作本身的態度。

We'll definitely have to redefine what we think of this work.

我們肯定會重新定義對這項工作的看法。

But we've had to do that many times before.

但我們必須在那前多次這樣做。

One of the things that we learned in Silicon Valley is just how much potential some people have.

我們在矽谷學到一件事，就是有些人有多大的潛力。

And if you can unlock that, if you can free them from having to work a job that they hate just to be able to survive, we'll create hugely more value for the world.

如果你可以解開這個問題，如果你能讓他們免於做自己討厭，卻得為了生存的工作，那我們將為這個世界創造更大的價值。